Difficulties of ESL Editing Work

One of the ways that ESL tutors can supplement their income is by offering their editing services to ESL and other students. As a private ESL tutor, I don't advertise to do English editing work. However, at least once a month, I receive an inquiry about an editing job.

I believe I've mentioned in the past that editing is not one of my favorite things to do. Actually, I love editing. I'll gladly do it for free for friends. I just don't usually like doing it as a paying job.

More often than not, people asking for my editing services will say things like, "It doesn't need much editing; just a few grammar problems." Or, "You don't have to correct too much; I just want it to sound like a native English writer."

While I (think I) understand what people are trying to convey when they tell me that their paper won't need much work, I often feel that people don't really understand what goes into editing a paper. For example, even if there are only a few necessary corrections, I still have to read the whole paper to find the errors. Even if there is only one error on a page, the whole page must be read and understood and checked.

I've gotten used to people making these sorts of statements about their papers. I expect it, and I don't let that deter me from taking a job.

The one thing that I've learned not to do is to not take on someone else's pressure. I had an ESL student contact me today to edit his paper. He needs it by tomorrow "at midnight." However, he hasn't finished the paper yet. He offered to send it to me by 10 p.m. I told him that I wouldn't able to fit it into my schedule; that it would take more time. "But it only needs a few corrections." --Sigh--

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Additional Income for ESL Tutors

As a private ESL tutor, I have to think about multiple sources of income. Since I choose to teach no more than three students a day, I really have to think about other sources of income. Currently, my two other sources are my websites (one about cats and one about ESL) and editing.

I don’t do editing regularly, but it seems that I frequently get emails from people in response to my craiglist’s ads for tutoring services. Many people have written me since I started posting the ads asking me if I can edit their papers. If there is a reasonable turn-around time and reasonable compensation, I usually take the editing job. I refuse to take on someone else’s headache who has waited until the last minute to finish their paper. I’ve had enough headaches of my own over my years as a student!

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Editing Work for ESL Tutors

In addition to teaching adult ESL students one-on-one, another way that I make use of my training and supplement my income is by editing students’ papers. These students normally aren’t my tutoring students, although I do occasionally edit some papers written by my students for their college courses. I don’t advertise as an editor (I only advertise on craigslist.org offering tutoring services), however, I have frequently received responses to my ads asking if I would be willing to edit someone’s paper. It could be a 2-page essay or a much longer term paper.

Before agreeing to edit a paper, I always ask for two things. I ask that the student send me the draft as soon as possible and I ask what the turnaround time is. Before I make a commitment to edit the paper, I want to see how much work will be involved and I want to know how much time I would have. On more than one occasion, I’ve had people send me very lengthy papers that need to be done overnight. I almost always say no to these offers. I refuse to take on someone else’s headache and make it my own. Also, I always agree to a price beforehand. I don’t give an hourly rate. Students always think that editing will take less than it actually does, so I want to avoid any disagreements.

I try to provide exceptional work. I make corrections, offer suggestions, and point out things that need clarification or that I totally cannot understand. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many times the student and I have to send the document back and forth, I always make sure that they are satisfied with the outcome.

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